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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26579884">we could be heroes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/onelastchence/pseuds/onelastchence'>onelastchence</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>EXO (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Jongdae's Birthday Week 2020, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:02:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26579884</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/onelastchence/pseuds/onelastchence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hero; a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Jongdae | Chen/Park Chanyeol</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Challenge #7 — Out of Order</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>we could be heroes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>happy birthday jongdae! i hope you know that people all around the world love you so very, very much!</p><p>thank you to the mods for being ever so patient &amp; understanding, to a for letting me play around in your creation, and to e, my very own superhero.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There is a man, unconscious on the operating table. He’s hooked up to an unholy number of machines, all monitoring his vitals. Next to him is a briefcase, filled with the last Enhancements that he will ever have to administer.</p><p> </p><p>Park Chanyeol closes his eyes, and prays to every and any god listening that he survives.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“What do you think about Defenders?”</p><p> </p><p>Chanyeol looks up at Jongdae, stiffening a little. They’re on their fifth date, not that Chanyeol had been keeping count, of course not. He hasn’t told Jongdae what exactly he works as, because it’s not something that comes up easily in conversation. What is he supposed to do, hand Jongdae a cup of bubble tea and go: <em> hey, actually, I specialize in shooting a bunch of weird powers into people for my job, what about you? </em></p><p> </p><p>Defenders.</p><p> </p><p>The supposed superheroes of South Korea. There is a group stationed in every area of Korea, with the main base situated in Seoul. They work with and <em> as </em> law enforcement, all with their own set of powers—Enhancements—given them to by the government. Chanyeol is one of the scientists in charge of doing so.</p><p> </p><p>You’d think that working for such a top-secret, prestigious government organization would lead Chanyeol to be a fan of the Defenders. After all, he’s the one in charge of developing and administering said Enhancements.</p><p> </p><p>But he’s seen, before, how not all Enhancements work. Some chosen Defenders just don’t accept them, their bodies’ immune system fighting tooth and nail to purge them, but, permanent as they are, permanent as they are <em> designed </em> to be, it’s an impossible task.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually, their bodies give up. Chanyeol has seen more than his fair share of corpses being wheeled into the morgue, the PR team coming down into the laboratory to make Chanyeol sign yet another non-disclosure agreement.</p><p> </p><p>Chanyeol is tired of having blood on his hands.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re all right, I guess.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It’s raining.</p><p> </p><p>It’s raining and Chanyeol is drenched, but he’s laughing. Jongdae is in his arms, his smile wide and his laughter bright as Chanyeol lifts him up and swings him around. Jongdae follows his lead, lets himself be picked up, wraps a leg around Chanyeol’s waist and extends the other behind him. He’s graceful and so <em> beautiful </em> that Chanyeol wants to hold him, keep him forever.</p><p> </p><p>Their bliss is abruptly sliced through by a loud screech and crash, and they quickly stop to look at each other in a panic, then they both run towards the edge of the roof they’d been dancing on, peeking over cautiously.</p><p> </p><p>There’s a car on fire, having evidently been crashed into from the rear. There’s a family in the car in front, a group of rowdy teenagers in the one that had crashed into them. The father of the former is desperately trying to get his family out of the destroyed vehicle even as the teenagers start to gather around him, jeering.</p><p> </p><p>“They need help,” Jongdae tugs on his sleeve. “Please, Chanyeol, we have to help them.”</p><p> </p><p>“How, Jongdae?” Chanyeol asks. “We have no way of doing anything from up here.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then we go down—”</p><p> </p><p>The telltale sound of flight interrupts him, and they crane their necks up to see two Defenders land on either side of the commotion. Chanyeol’s jaw sets. He remembers them, both from the Seoul base and the very two the government had first worked on, back when Chanyeol was nothing but an assistant researcher on probation: Xiumin and Suho.</p><p> </p><p>“Wow,” Jongdae breathes. “That’s them, isn’t it? The pioneers.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good evening,” Suho greets amicably. “Crashing into someone else’s car isn’t very polite, now is it?”</p><p> </p><p>Xiumin has forgone all pleasantries and already begun to evacuate the victims. He grabs the father first, then a portal opens up <em> below </em> him and another appears on the other side of the street, where he leaves the father. The father seems to panic, trying to rush back to his family, and Xiumin throws some sort of bubble at him, one that puts him to sleep the moment it touches him and pops. He continues his methodothical evacuation, moving the family one by one.</p><p> </p><p>Suho is engaged in combat with the teenagers, if you could call it that. They’re rushing at him and he’s dodging, hitting where he can. With every hit, he seems to get faster, move quicker, until the teenagers can barely keep up with him. With a quick glow of gold, wings erupt out of his back and a halo of swords appear around his person; no hit seems to phase him now, and he rushes into the center of the group when the swords pierce <em> down</em>, pinning them all to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>Chanyeol sighs, mood entirely dissipated. “Come on, Jongdae,” He says, tugging his boyfriend towards the stairs. “Let’s go and shower before we catch a cold.”</p><p> </p><p>Jongdae goes, docile, but his eyes are lit up with excitement. “They’re so cool,” He gushes. </p><p> </p><p>Chanyeol cannot relate.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Chanyeol hands in his resignation and two-week notice. His boss looks at it, sighs, then makes one last request of him: “One more, before you go. He’s coming in next week.”.</p><p> </p><p>“Fine.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“I have to go on a business trip,” Jongdae says, curled up sleepily in Chanyeol’s lap. “For a few months.”</p><p> </p><p>“Months?” Chanyeol asks incredulously. “What are you doing there?”</p><p> </p><p>“Initiation,” Jongdae replies. “I know it sounds like a long time, but I’ll be back before you know it.”</p><p> </p><p>Chanyeol makes an unhappy noise in the back of his throat, burying his face into Jongdae’s neck. “I know, I know. It’s your job; you know I’ll always support whatever you want to do.”</p><p> </p><p>“Me too, you know,” Jongdae says, voice soft. “I’ll always support you, too.”</p><p> </p><p>Chanyeol thinks of the resignation letter in the drawer of his desk, and swallows past the lump in his throat. “Yeah.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“He’s here,” His boss says, and Chanyeol sighs, standing up to get ready to greet the new Defender.</p><p> </p><p>Kim Jongdae walks in through the door.</p>
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